24-Hour Responsible Agent: provide a 24-hour contact number for rental guests. This contact information should be listed in several places including a highly visible space in the home, such as near the front door or in the kitchen. It is also helpful to share this information pre-arrival and with any mid-stay communications such as emails or text messages.

Wildfire Safety and Prevention: wildfire is a serious risk in our community. Ensure your guests are aware of fire restrictions before arrival and in any mid-stay communications. If you have a fire pit or barbecue, provide clear signage about operational instructions as well as guidelines to make sure fires are fully extinguished. We recommend sharing the Summit Fire website with guests in all communications: www.summitfire.org/203/wildfire-information as well as the Summit County Alerts service so guests can be informed in event of local emergencies: www.scalert.org.

‍Respect for Wildlife: as you are aware, Summit County is home to abundant wildlife including bears, elk, moose, mountain lions, marmots, bighorn sheep, mountain goats, beavers and wolves. While it can be exciting for guests to see our forest friends, it is important to educate them about safety. Most dangerous encounters with wildlife happen because people fail to leave animals alone. Wildlife should never been harassed, captured, domesticated or fed. In fact, it is illegal in Colorado to intentionally place or distribute feed, salt blocks or other items that would attract large animals.

Respect for Neighbors: being a great neighbor starts at home! Encourage guests to be friendly and courteous, treating neighbors as you would like to be treated. Respect neighbors and their property and inform guests of all boundaries and neighborhood limitations.

Trail Etiquette: providing safe and responsible recreation is one of the highlights of being a host in Summit County. Teach guests to properly manage trash and recycling, especially when out enjoying our forests and trails. We live a pack-in, pack-out lifestyle here and ask our guests to do the same. This includes educating guests to stay on marked trails to help protect wildlife and the natural habitat, yield to uphill hikers, and follow any other posted trail etiquette on signs at the trailhead.

Noise and Outdoor Lighting: post signage and inform guests in electronic communications of the local quiet hours. In much of Summit, the quiet hour is 11:00pm unless otherwise enforced by your homeowners association. Post quiet hour information near hot tubs, fire pits, and other outdoor spaces as well as including it with property information that you provide to your guests.

Maintenance of Property: this one’s just for us - mostly! Make sure to keep your property/ies clean, presentable and free of trash and debris. And when it comes to your guests, include information about where to find trash and/or recycling receptacles and any other waste management principles specific to your property.

Trash and Recycling: place all trash and recycling containers indoors in order to prevent issues with wildlife and be sure to educate guests as to why we keep our trash inside. As the responsible agent for your home, you’ll need to provide a town or county-approved trash disposal and collection plan.

Parking & Traffic Safety: provide a parking plan for your property so guests know where they should (and should not) park during their stay. If you have a maximum number of vehicles allowed, be sure to clearly communicate this prior to arrival so guests are not disappointed upon arrival. Place a copy of your parking information inside the property as well so guests can easily view it upon arrival.

Maximum Capacity: your home is permitted for a specific number of guests as part of your STR license. Make sure to communicate this occupancy maximum on all listing sites, in any marketing sources you use, and in all guest communications prior to arrival.

Driving Conditions: as Summit County community members, we all know how variable road conditions can be here throughout the year. Be sure to clearly communicate the extreme conditions and safe driving tips on your marketing materials and as part of your guest communications, especially for winter visitors. Recommend that any guest traveling to Summit County in the winter months bring a vehicle with 4WD or AWD during visits from September through May. Winter guests should also be made aware to bring a vehicle with snow tires or mud/snow tires with minimum ⅛ inch tread, functioning defrosters in front and back windows, a sturdy ice scraper and snow brush, windshield fluid rated for 0 degrees F or colder, shovel, gloves, boots and winter clothing in case of emergency.

Be sure to share the cotrip.org website and goi70.com with your guests to help them monitor road conditions and alerts during their visit with us, and inform them that if they are found without the proper traction equipment during winter months and cause an accident or otherwise block traffic, they could face a fine of more than $650!

Local Transit Options: inform your guests about the wonderful free public transportation options we have with Summit Stage and the Breck Free Ride! Our goal is to limit traffic as much as possible, and as a visitor to our community, our guests are the perfect candidates to utilize these free local bus routes. Sit back, relax and enjoy the free ride while you’re here! We can do the driving so they don’t have to - plus, they’ll save time searching for parking or trying to learn our local roads.

Pets: if pets are allowed in your property, be sure to communicate all of the important pet protocols for your home and neighborhood from pet waste disposal to preventing excessive barking. And with the local wildlife always watching, it is important to ensure guests prevent their pets from wandering neighborhoods. Share our leash law requirements in any pre-arrival and mid-stay communications as well as on printed materials in the property. Lastly, all pet food should be stored indoors to reduce the likelihood of attracting wildlife.

Tenant & Guest Responsibility: all of our guests should be encouraged to be a Good Neighbor while they’re here in Summit County. Be sure to communicate Good Neighbor policies in your pre-arrival and mid-stay communications and on printed information in the property. There may be consequences including fines or potentially lost STR licensing privileges if guests fail to adhere to the guidelines! Help us continue building a better community by promoting these guidelines with every guest, every time.
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